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Kiva loans that change lives

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Banks like Wells Fargo destroy lives every single day, and get away with it despite their cruel and unethical practices. Here is one of those stories that ended in tragedy.

Right from the start, homeowners, Norman and Oriane Rousseau provided proof to Wells Fargo, that they - the bank - had, indeed, received the Rousseau's mortgage payment and cashed their check; but had misapplied the payment. The bank lied, claiming they ordered a stop payment on the cashier's check, despite the fact that a cashier's check payment can't be stopped. Like a well-oiled machine, the bank continued their process of destruction. The bank "lost" their payment three times in the last eight months of the loan. The bank continued to lose every shred of Norman’s evidence: the cashier’s check receipts; certified mail from him with returned signatures from them; certified mail from his attorney; documentation that they were cashing the checks, etc.

“In May 2009 the bank claimed the couple had missed their April payment. They proved they had made a payment in person at the bank, using a cashier’s check and that the check had been cashed by the bank. The bank then claimed they had ordered a stop payment on the check, even though a cashier’s check payment cannot be stopped,” writes Johnson. “The runaround began. The bank began harassing them for payment, sometimes as many as six-eight calls per day, sometimes even late at night. On August 3, 2009 the bank claimed the Rousseaus hadn’t paid June or July’s payments either, demanding $3,406.50. But then on August 8 the bank assured them they were current on payments. Then the bank again claimed it had not been paid and that the bank had been trying to contact them without success, and that they now owed $3,478,25.”

The Rousseaus soon learned that the loan they believed they were paying was entirely different from what they received — a loan loaded with prepayment penalties, unnecessary fees, and one that had them paying less than the amount of interest on the loan, making it reset and actually add to the cost of their debt. The longer they continued to make minimum payments, the further they fell behind, and with the “lost” check they fell into a cycle they were unable to ever get out of.

Norman tried to make his voice heard. He took his case to authorities at every level: local, state, and national to no avail. Norman lost his job and used all their savings on lawyers and the legal fight. Eventually, pushed by banksters to the brink of homelessness, Norman Rousseau shot and killed himself. An evicted Oriane Rousseau, his wife, doesn’t even have the money to bury her husband.